COLEOPTERA. 
145 
their temporary lodgings; and also sometimes to cer¬ 
tain hairy Diptera or two-winged flies, which elosely 
resemble wild bees. In the latter case it is an un¬ 
fortunate attachment for the larvse, as the Diptera 
make no nest or provision for their offspring, so that 
the would-be parasite necessarily perishes of starva- 
. tion; and it is probably the chance of this, added to 
the many fortunate contingencies required before the 
larvse can be safely landed within reach of their food, 
that causes such an enormous number of eggs to be 
laid by the parent beetle. . . . When carried by the 
unconscious bee to its nest the Meloe larva devours the 
egg therein contained, changes (without leaving the 
shell of the latter) into a second form—not unlike the 
larva of a Lamellicorn beetle in miniature, being arched, 
cylindrical, with toothed mandibles and stout legs— 
and then subsists on the food intended by the bee for 
its own young. After some time this second form 
of the larva changes its outer covering, which is 
not entirely shed, but remains wrinkled together at 
the hinder apex of its body; it is then arched, dis¬ 
tinctly composed of thirteen segments, attenuated at 
the extremities, and motionless. From this false pupa 
(and probably, after passing the winter), a third form 
of the larva appears, similar to the second.” It appears 
there is still a gap to be bridged over, and it has yet to 
be discovered what are the stages that subsequently 
take place in the nest of the bee, and what the life 
history of the creature, till such time as we find it a 
bloated, tardigrade, wingless beetle upon the meadow, 
hill-side, or foot-path, where it is commonly found. 
The Meloe leads us to another curious beetle—also a 
L 
